Light
by blacksugarbomb
Summary: On his desk lay the white feather and white flower that the brunette had given him. A light breeze came into the room through the window that was wide open, making the feather and flower twitch a little. ‘Thank you, Aeris and Zack.’


**Author Notes: **Gosh… I've got so many stories to update and YET, I'm writing new things. I am absolutely hopeless.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Final Fantasy VII or anything related to it.

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He leisurely flopped down onto the dusty cold ground as the thin pink ribbon that was tied on the large sword's hilt flickered in the wind. The petals of the yellow and white flowers also twitched as they lay there in a bundle at the foot of the large sword. The sword had been standing here at the edge of this cliff for nearly a decade now; the blade was covered in rust and parts of it were chipped away from battles that it had been through. Despite the poor state that the sword was in, it had also once been shining brightly under the strong sunlight and it had also once been the pride of its master. Pride… Yes, that sword had represented his best friend's dreams and prides – his pride and dream of being a First Class Soldier.

As he tilted his head upwards and stared up at the distant stars that glittered against the dark night sky, he couldn't help noticing that there was one extremely bright star. As another soft breeze swept across the dusty outskirts of the once prosperous city of Midgar, the wind ruffled his already messy light blonde hair like his friend had used to do. Shivering a little against the cold winds, he hugged his knees, staring straight ahead at the empty flat desert plains that lay ahead below the cliff.

Once upon a time, he had forgotten a person – a very important person. This person had aimed high as a young Second Class Soldier; his dream was to become a hero. It may sound a little childish at first, but being a hero wasn't an easy task. What was a _hero_ anyway? Was a hero a person who had bravery and courage no one has? Was a hero someone who gets admired by everyone? Those were all wrong in that person's eyes; he believed being a hero meant being able to bring happiness to people around him and being able to protect those that he cared for. An important trait of a hero was also to be able to hold onto your dreams and never let go. This important person that he had forgotten aimed to do his best in all his missions and finally his hard work earned him the title of a First Class Soldier.

Hiding his azure eyes behind his eyelids and burying his face in his arms, the blonde's memories of that faithful day rushed back.

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_It was originally a bright sunny day with not a single cloud in sight to block out the sunlight. They were in the back of a yellow truck headed towards Midgar. But the sound of a gunshot and of the bullet ricocheting off the metal echoed into the silent air. He couldn't remember much from that time, his senses had been dulled by the large amount of mako within his body. The driver's low rough voice mumbled something inaudible and the black spiky haired man sitting opposite himself nodded at the driver before he leapt off the truck and dragged his own limp body after him before another bullet aimed at them could hit them. As soon as they got off the truck, the vehicle sped off down the road leaving only a cloud of dust in its wake._

_Hiding behind a rock that had been chipped and worn away by the merciless weather throughout all those years that the world was created, the man with a scar on his left cheek that resembled an 'x' carefully put him down, making him lean against the large rock behind. Studying his slightly feminine face for a moment, the black haired man gave him his trademark grin, ruffled his chocobo-like blonde hair before he walked off into the bright sunlight that seemed to envelope him._

_A bad feeling hit him and as the black haired man slowly made his way into the light, the blonde reached out his gloved hand.__ The blonde had wished to follow his companion, only to find his body limp and unmovable.__ After that, he saw nothing – he only heard helicopters, gunshots, agonizing screams of pain, sword slashes and the gentle splatter of crimson blood. By the time all these noises ceased to ring in his ears, the sky had been covered with grey gloomy__ clouds which blocked out the sunlight, making the piece of barren land seem even emptier than it was._

_Not long after the silence, drops of rain splattered onto the ground. Suddenly, the world seemed to be a much lonelier, scarier and cruel world; this weather always made him feel very insecure as if he was just a fragile butterfly that could be killed with just a gentle touch. Finally managing to move his body with his own free will, he made his way towards the bloodstained battlefield on all fours. Familiar soldier helmets, guns and weapons lay around the scene, suggesting the fact that this had once been a battlefield._

_On the edge of the cliff lay a limp figure whose chest heaved up and down. The figure merely stared up into the grey clouds, watching the individual droplets of rain water splatter onto his face, washing patches of dirt and blood off his face. However, a young man's face soon entered his view. He had messy light blonde hair that resembled a chocobo and a pair of azure colours eyes that seemed to match the colour of the sky. He wore the same black sleeveless turtleneck and black pants which were matched with a pair of black battle boots and shoulder amour which was unlike his own set of clothes which was stained with blood and covered in bullet holes._

"_Zack." The blonde's voice was gentle yet firm as he spoke his name._

_Wincing at the searing pain from the bullets that were still in his body, the black haired soldier looked at the blonde with a smile of relief on his face. "On my behalf…" His usually cheery voice was dull and soft. As his voice trailed off, the blonde repeated his friend's words._

"_On your behalf…?" He stared blankly at the black haired man's bloody face._

_Giving him yet another smile, Zack continued, "That's right. You will…" His voice faded again once more as he found a little trouble breathing._

"_You will…?" The blonde slowly repeated his words once more._

_Gathering enough energy, Zack lifted his left arm and rested it at the back of the blonde's neck before pulling his head down so that his face met with his blood stained shirt, "Live." His once strong voice was now shaky, "You are…The proof that I existed." His arm then fell limp beside him, splashing muddy water everywhere. Taking in a deep breath, Zack fought with the will to rest and sleep. 'Just a bit more time…'_

_Lifting his head off Zack's chest and looking up at the black haired man's blood strewn face, Zack noticed that a large patch of his blood had stained the blonde's cheek. Moments of silence later, Zack turned his head to his side and looked at the large sword that he held in his hand, "My pride and dreams…" Dragging the sword closer, he lifted the hilt up towards the blonde's face. As his face turned into a serious expression, he continued his sentence, "I give them all to you."_

_The blonde reached out to the sword and gentle held the hilt of the sword with his hands. Releasing his grip on the sword's hilt, Zack used his hand and pushed it towards the blonde._

"_I'm the proof that you existed." The blonde repeated with his empty looking eyes._

_Finally feeling a little lighter now that he had spoken his last words, Zack gave the blonde one last gentle smile before he closed his eyes and the sound of his heavy breathing ceased. The blonde held the sword tight in his hands as he tried to accept his best friend's death; he looked up at the sky in horror and let out a scream of anguish_

_Scenes of his best friend flashed before his eyes that were now full of fear. Zack swiveled around and smiled at him while using his thumb and pointing at himself as snow drifted everywhere on the snowing mountains of Modeoheim. Then it switches to a seen somewhere in a dimly lit building, Zack looked down at him sternly with an outstretch hand, but his serious expression is soon replaced by a gentle and friendly smile. Then the next scene that came was of him ruffling his blonde hair before setting off towards his last battle with his own gloved hand reaching for Zack's disappearing figure. Next was when they were on the yellow truck and Zack said something that he couldn't remember and gave him his trademark smile._

_When all these scenes and images of Zack Fair had stopped coming into his mind, the rain stopped and the sky cleared and sunlight shone through the grey clouds in shafts. Lowering his gaze and looking at the peaceful smile on Zack's face, he remembered something that Zack had said which really stuck into his head._

"_**Hold onto your dreams. If you want to be a hero, you have to hold onto your dreams."**_

"_Thank you," the blonde whispered as he continued to stare at his friend's face, "I won't forget." Looking up sadly into the sky and clearing his mind, he stood with Zack's prides and dreams in hand "Good night," He then turned around and walked a few steps then paused before continuing on his journey towards Midgar, "Zack."_

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It was on this spot that he had stopped breathing, laughing, smiling and living. Despite the fact that he had said back at that time that he wouldn't forget that friend of his who died for his sake, he still forgot. He forgot his name, his entire existence and what he had done for him. But now he remembers his name, his existence in this world and his deeds. This important person was Zack Fair; he was a First Class Soldier who experienced all the highs and lows in life. Zack had sacrificed his life in order to protect and let his friend live on.

"Crying?" A gentle and motherly voice came from behind.

The blonde looked up with empty azure eyes and stared straight ahead. "Like that would happen." His voice came out muffled by his clothes. It had been a long time since he last cried. His emotions had already died a long time ago with his heart.

"Who knows? Even the strongest person in the world has times when they're weak after all." The girl in a soft pink dress picked up the bundle of flowers that were left by the large sword by the blonde. Sitting down on the ground on the other side of the sword that continued to stand unwavering, the brown haired girl smiled gracefully at the yellow and white flowers, "These flowers… They're beautiful aren't they?" Silence. "The sky," She raised her head and looked at the late afternoon sky, "It reminds people of his eyes, doesn't it?" Silence. Lowering her gaze, the brunette smiled kindly, "Haven't you found your light yet, Cloud?"

"No." Cloud continued to stare ahead with empty merciless eyes.

"Do you want to find it?" The brunette stood up, taking a white flower from the bundle and stood still beside the blonde swordsman. Cloud decided not to look up, but he nodded. He wanted to find his light; his world has always been too dark. It's so dark in his world that he can't see anyone, and no one could see him. In his world, he was always alone because no one ever saw him or noticed him. He doesn't want to be in solitude for the rest of his life, and therefore he had been searching for his light.

His voice came out muffled once again, "Are you going to help me?"

"Hmm… Kind of." The girl in the pink dress giggled to herself, "Here. Take this." She held out the single white flower towards the blonde who took the flower from her hand. "You've got people waiting for you at home. And stop being all depressed about Zack, he doesn't like it!"

By the time he had looked up to try and see the face of the brown haired girl, she had disappeared in thin air. But the white flower that she gave him remained in his hand. Had she been real or an illusion? Standing up, Cloud stared blankly at the white flower. What did she mean? How's this flower supposed to help him find his light? Then he noticed there was a white feather caught in between in flower's petals. A feather? Despite it being a normal white feather, it somehow made beads of tears form.

As the tears cascaded down his cheek, his facial expression remained unchanged. _'Why am I crying?'_ Using his free hand, he wiped away the tears from his eyes. It was then the brunette's words echoed in his head: Haven't you found your light yet, Cloud? You've got people waiting for you at home. And stop being all depressed about Zack, he doesn't like it!

Why hadn't he realized earlier? Light had always been around him, it was just that he had never let any into his dark world. The girl in the pink dress had indeed helped him and also taught him an invaluable lesson.

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Zipping up his shirt, he turned around only to be greeted by a raven haired girl. "Oh! Just in time for dinner!" She smiled cheerfully at him, "Welcome home, Cloud."

Changing his blank expression into a small smile, he replied, "…Thanks."

Continuing to smile brightly at the blonde, she gestured towards the bar downstairs, "Dinner?" The blonde's small smile then reverted back into the same thin line that it always is in. "Hmmm, still no appetite today? But please, just eat a little. If this keeps going on, your body's not going to hold up much longer." The martial artist's wine coloured eyes were full of hurt but when the blonde swordsman replied, she put on her smile once more.

"…I guess so, Tifa." Cloud gave his childhood friend another small smile as he left his bedroom and descended the stair case into the bar that Tifa ran.

On his desk lay the white feather and white flower that the brunette had given him. A light breeze came into the room through the window that was wide open, making the feather and flower twitch a little. _'Thank you, Aeris and Zack.'_


End file.
